Professor Peter Donnelly, chair of the consortium, said that the breakthrough could mean better treatments for these diseases in the future.

"Many of the most common diseases are very complex, part nature and nurture, with genes interacting with our environment and lifestyles," he remarked.

"By identifying the genes underlying these conditions, our study should enable scientists to understand better how disease occurs, which people are most at risk and, in time, to produce more effective, more personalised treatments."

The WTCCC is a collaboration of 24 leading human geneticists. The results of their latest study are published in the journal Nature.

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